Pennsylvania Monsignor Sentenced To 3 To 6 Years In Prison

Monsignor William Lynn exits the Criminal Justice Center on Tuesday in Philadelphia.

Matt Rourke
/ AP

Monsignor William Lynn, who became the first Catholic leader convicted in the church sex abuse scandal, was sentenced to three to six years in prison.

The AP reports:

"The former secretary for clergy at the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, handled priest assignments and child sexual assault complaints from 1992 to 2004.

"Judge M. Teresa Sarmina said Lynn enabled 'monsters in clerical garb ... to destroy the souls of children, to whom you turned a hard heart.'

"She added: 'You knew full well what was right, Monsignor Lynn, but you chose wrong.'"

Last month Lynn was convicted of endangerment. As we reported, "Lynn was never accused of touching a child, instead he was accused of encouraging the reassignment of priests despite the fact that there were signs they had sexually abused children."

Copyright 2012 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.